I See through Everything

October 16th.

Of the third batch of 20,000 eels being cultivated, a quarter had already begun to lay eggs.

According to the plan, to avoid long gaps in production, 5,000 eels would now lay eggs every half-month or so. This ensured the breeding base could produce 7.6 million glass eels every two weeks.

However, even before these 7.6 million glass eels hatched, 4.4 million of them had already been pre-ordered by fish farmers from the local area and across the Chaoshan region.

The fish farmers who purchased the previous batch discovered that after raising them for over a month, a large portion of the glass eels had successfully transformed into leptocephali by following the formula and special feed provided by the Hailufeng Company.

Once the eels reached the leptocephalus stage, they no longer required the "artificial Hai Xue feed" specially prepared by the Hailufeng Company. They could simply be fed ordinary eel feed.

Therefore, the farmers from that batch with larger operations quickly called again, asking if more eel fry were available.

The sales department told them the next batch would be available in about two weeks but didn’t mention that the eel fry were artificially bred.

The farmers didn’t overthink it, simply assuming the Hailufeng Company had special import channels and was bringing in glass eels from overseas.

The Hailufeng Canning Factory received another 5,000 culled female eels. This time, however, not all of them were used to produce Braised Eel in Oil. A more traditional Red-Braised Eel can was added to the product line.

After all, having only one type of canned eel was far too monotonous for the online store department.

Sales of the previously stocked Braised Eel in Oil, however, had increased significantly in October, driven primarily by repeat customers.

...

In a Xinli Supermarket in the city.

A dozen or so cans of eel had quietly appeared on the shelves of the canned goods aisle. They were the Braised Eel in Oil from the Hailufeng Canning Factory.

Xiaoli pushed her shopping cart along, surveying the rows of cans lining the shelves.

’Should I get a can of dace with fermented black beans to stir-fry with celtuce? No, my son doesn’t seem to like it...’

’Huh? Eel? My son went to that Japanese restaurant last week and has been raving about the eel he had ever since. Maybe I should buy a can for him?’

She glanced at the different kinds of canned eel, but ultimately chose the Braised Eel in Oil from the Hailufeng Canning Factory. The packaging was the most attractive, and the price was quite reasonable at 15 yuan per can.

A few other customers also bought cans from the Hailufeng Canning Factory.

Xiaoli returned home. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Her son, who had just come home from school, was lying on the couch playing with his phone.

"Don’t just lie there playing on your phone all day. It’s bad for your eyes. Go take a shower. Dinner will be ready soon. I bought a can of eel today."

"I know."

’This kid...’ Xiaoli shook her head, took her bags into the kitchen, and got busy.

An hour later, the rice was cooked and the other dishes were nearly done. She suddenly remembered the canned eel, quickly opened it, poured the contents onto a small plate, and microwaved it for three minutes.

By now, her husband was also home and watching TV in the living room.

"Dinner’s ready!"

Using a plate gripper, Xiaoli took the small plate and placed the braised eel on the dining table.

Her son came out after washing his hands. Seeing the eel on the plate, he complained, "Mom, *this* is the eel you were talking about? I wanted the kind from the Japanese place, not this!"

"Huh? It’s all eel, isn’t it?" Xiaoli snapped. "Eat it or don’t. You have no appreciation for your mother’s hard work!"

"Alright, I’ll take you next time," his dad said. "Just eat your dinner for now."

Now that his father had spoken, the boy didn’t dare say anything else. He just lowered his head and started eating.

Seeing that her son hadn’t touched the eel, Xiaoli decided to try it herself. She picked up a piece with her chopsticks and tasted it.

"Hmm?" A little surprised, she took another piece.

"What is it? Not good? Canned fish like this is never any good," her husband commented, taking a bite himself.

But he paused, also surprised. "This flavor... it’s so familiar. Have I had this before?"

"I don’t think so! This is my first time buying canned eel," Xiaoli said, shaking her head.

Her husband, however, was racking his brain. Suddenly, he remembered. "I’ve got it! It tastes just like the braised eel from that farmhouse restaurant in Nanfen. That’s it! This is the exact same flavor!"

"When did you go there?"

"A friend from work took me last year."

"This eel is delicious," Xiaoli said, taking another piece of eel and a big scoop of rice. "There’s no muddy aftertaste at all, the seasoning is perfect, and these peanuts are so flavorful. It really goes well with rice."

Seeing his parents enjoying it so much, their son couldn’t resist trying a piece himself. "Hey, this is good!"

Many people who tried the Hailufeng canned eel for the first time had a reaction similar to Xiaoli’s family.

First-timers were always amazed by the flavor. Combined with the lack of any muddy taste, even the pickiest eaters found it hard to find fault.

Perhaps the only drawback to the canned eel was that the fish meat wasn’t perfectly fresh.

After dinner, Xiaoli finished washing the dishes and lay down on the couch to play on her phone.

As she scrolled, she had an idea: why not search for that canned eel on Tao Net? It would probably be cheaper to buy online.

She went to the kitchen garbage to check the brand name on the can. After typing it into the search bar, only one store appeared in the results.

’Hailufeng Agricultural Technology Company? Huh? Do they only sell canned goods? Is it a local company?’

Xiaoli read the online store’s description, then decided to start a chat with customer service.

Meanwhile, in a third-floor dorm room at the Hailufeng Company Headquarters, Zhang Xinyi was lying on her bed playing a matching game on her phone when a Tao Net customer service notification popped up.

She quickly opened the Tao Net seller dashboard and replied to the customer’s message.

Xiaoli soon learned that the company was located right in Magong Town and that they produced the canned goods themselves.

The two of them ended up chatting for half an hour.

Feeling a bit sheepish after such a long and friendly chat, Xiaoli placed an order for a 10-can mixed pack of the eel.

Just as she finished her chat with Xiaoli, before she could even take a sip of water, another customer message came in. This time, however, the customer wanted to buy ten cases of Red-Braised Eel.

Zhang Xinyi used her permissions to give the customer a 10% discount.

This customer was a sushi delivery shop in the city. After trying the Red-Braised Eel from the Hailufeng Canning Factory, they realized it could replace the more expensive kabayaki eel they had been using.

The brand of kabayaki eel they had been using developed a strong, muddy aftertaste once it cooled down, leading to more than a dozen customer complaints.

The sushi shop owner had been trying to solve this problem, and discovering the Red-Braised Eel from the Hailufeng Canning Factory was like opening up a whole new world.

Upon hearing that the Hailufeng Canning Factory was located in Magong, the customer said they planned to pick up the order themselves the next day.

Zhang Xinyi, of course, had no objection. The shipping fee for ten cases of canned eel was a significant expense, after all.

She climbed out of bed, stretched, and gave herself a pep talk in the mirror. "You can do it. Things are going to get better!"

Although her boss hadn’t said anything, the online store’s consistently lukewarm performance had left Zhang Xinyi feeling deeply anxious.

Thankfully, a steady stream of repeat customers had started coming in over the last few days. Plus, she had successfully negotiated shelf placement terms with supermarkets in the city, Hai Cheng County, and Lufeng City. She could finally breathe a small sigh of relief.

October was only half over, but the online store had already sold 1,436 cans, generating 20,000 yuan in revenue. This gave Zhang Xinyi a huge confidence boost.

Tonight, she could finally get a peaceful night’s sleep.

A junior employee has their own worries and frustrations. Perhaps that’s just life.